A book series for kids who want to figure stuff out
NOBODY
TOLD ME
JACK SQUAT.
So he figured it out himself.
Meet Jack, an 11-year-old with big ideas, zero dollars, and the determination to change that. A series about the real-life stuff no one bothers to teach you.
Who is he?
MEET JACK SQUAT.
Jack Squat is eleven years old. He's got messy hair, one perpetually untied shoe, and an empty wallet that's driving him absolutely crazy. He's the kind of kid who gets big ideas, the kind adults always say are great but never actually explain how to make real.
He's not the smartest kid in class. He's not the most prepared. He's definitely not the most organized (that's his best friend Freckles). But Jack has something a lot of kids don't: he refuses to just accept "that's how it works" without understanding why.
The Jack Squat series follows Jack through the real lessons that schools skip money, saving, investing, work, fairness, and figuring out how the world actually operates. One hard lesson at a time.
📚 THE SERIES IS ABOUT
Real-world lessons that kids 8–13 are ready for — but rarely get. Money, business, budgeting, investing, work, and how the economy actually affects their lives. Told through Jack's adventures, mistakes, and hard-won victories.
🎯 AGES 8–13
Written for real kids — with real humor, real characters, and zero condescension. These aren't textbooks with a funny cover. Jack genuinely doesn't know stuff, and he figures it out the same way kids do: by trying, failing, and listening to the right people.
"Find a problem somebody has. Solve it. Charge them money for it."
— Pops McGee, half-asleep on the porch
✏️ Every book ends with a real worksheet so kids can try it themselves. Including a $1 Certificate of Completion their parents can actually redeem.
The cast
JACK 's crew
Jack Squat
The Main Guy
Messy hair, untied shoe, empty wallet. Jack dives in before he has all the answers, then learns by doing. The kind of kid who keeps asking "but why?" until things finally make sense. The lessons usually cost him a little time, money, or embarrassment somehow.
Freckles
The Smart One
Color-coded notebook. Tabs. Sections. Freckles doesn't wait for problems to find her. She shows up seven minutes early with a plan. She spots details everyone else misses and always has a backup strategy ready. Jack's best friend and unofficial business partner.
Pops McGee
The Wise One (Asleep)
61. Golf magazine. Porch chair. Pops can fall asleep in any chair within four minutes and somehow still knows what's going on. He delivers life-changing advice in three words or less, then goes right back to snoring. Jack's grandpa and secret weapon.
Chewie
Chief Morale Officer
Scruffy. Lovable. A world-class disaster. Chewie eats socks, chases anything that moves, and turns every simple task into an adventure. His moral support is unmatched, and half of Jack's customers stop by to pet him. Technically Jack's best marketing asset.
Real skills, real fun
What JACK teaches.
THE ONE THING MR. BURKE NEVER TAUGHT
Three weeks on "market economies." Zero minutes on how to actually make a dollar. The Jack Squat series fixes that one book, one lesson, one adventure at a time.
The collection
The Jack squat series.
✓ Available Now
AM I TOO YOUNG TO MAKE MONEY?
Jack loses 75¢ and learns everything.
Coming Soon
Jack's Story Continue ...
Available Soon
For the grown-ups
why parent's love it too.
These aren't dry finance lessons dressed up with cartoon characters. Jack Squat teaches the same things parents wish someone had taught them, in a way kids actually want to read.
Real financial literacy concepts — profit, budgeting, investing — explained at an 8–13 level without dumbing them down
Every book includes an interactive worksheet so kids can apply what they read to real life
The $1 Certificate of Completion creates a genuine incentive to read and reflect, not just flip pages
Written to be funny, honest, and relatable, not preachy. Jack makes mistakes. Your kid will feel seen.
Great conversation starters for family discussions about money that would otherwise never happen
Start the adventure
nOBODY TOLD
Jack squat
Now somebody's telling your kid. Get the series — because the stuff that matters most is exactly what school never covers.
aGES
8 - 13
series
4 + bOOKS
sKILLS
SrEAL ONES